Southern Skim Milk/Fat-Free-Yogurt Biscuits

 

Due to my sudden craving for buttermilk biscuits and conflicting unwillingness to go to the store and spend money on buttermilk, I conjured up these Fat-Free Yogurt Biscuits. I am not a fan of the so-called “buttermilk substitute” of milk and lemon/vinegar (too “liquidy” compared to the real deal and not as flavorful) nor did I have lemon, so I decided to combine skim milk with fat-free, Greek yogurt and use that as a substitute.

I was a bit wary about the result of these Fat-Free Yogurt Biscuits until I took them out of the oven, broke them open, and took my first bite…They were AMAZING! I surprisingly didn’t miss the buttermilk at all, even though my buttermilk biscuits are amazing in their own right.

OMG! I want another one right now.

When I usually make biscuits, I make cheese or sausage and cheese biscuits. However, these Fat-Free Yogurt biscuits were so good on their own that I forgot the cheese! I then decided to make sausage gravy using skim milk again. I was nervous about the end result of this gravy, too, but it turned out very well.

Look at that chunky gravy! Yum!
After eating this delicious brunch and appeasing my craving, I didn’t feel as greasy and heavy as I usually feel aftefr eating buttermilk biscuits with whole-milk gravy. I was full, but I felt satisfied and ready to tackle the rest of the day! I paired this dish with scrambled eggs and low-calorie orange juice. I think from now on I’ll be making my biscuits with fat-free yogurt and skim milk (I know you’re shocked, mom!) in place of buttermilk.
  
I used my go-to recipe for buttermilk biscuits. The only change was the buttermilk substitute and the amount of yogurt/milk mixture. I add a bit more than suggested.

  Southern Skim Milk / Fat-Free-Yogurt Biscuits 

I always halve this recipe; full recipe below
  • 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (or half wheat flour!)
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder (without aluminum)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon salt
  • 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, very cold
  • 1/2 cup skim, fat-free milk
  • 1/2 -3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt (I used 0% Fage)

PREPARE COLD BUTTER AND YOGURT/MILK MIXTURE: Cut the butter into small cubes or grate the butter with a cheese grater. Place the butter in the freezer. Measure out the milk/yogurt mixture (or buttermilk, if using), and place it in the refrigerator as you prepare the dry ingredients.

DRY INGREDIENTS/BUTTER INTEGRATION: Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl or in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cubed/grated butter into the dry ingredients and mix into the dry mixture until the butter bits resemble small pebbles. If using a food processor, just pulse a few times until this consistency is achieved.

ADDITION OF LIQUIDS: Next, add the cold yogurt/milk mixture and stir until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX! Make sure the mixture is not too dry or too wet. Adjust accordingly. The biscuit dough should be wet.

PAT IT OUT!: Turn the dough out onto a floured board or clear wrap/cling wrap. Gently, gently PAT (do NOT roll with a rolling pin) the dough out until it’s about 1/2″ thick (I fold the dough using the cling/clear wrap so that my warm hands do not directly touch the dough or warm the butter). Fold the dough about 5 times, gently press the dough down to a 1 inch thick.

BISCUIT FORMATION: Use a round cutter to cut into rounds OR with a sharp knife, cut the dough into squares, like I did!

COOKIE SHEET PREPARATION: Lightly brush the cookie sheet with butter, and place the biscuits on a cookie sheet. If you desire the sides of the biscuits to be soft, put them on the sheet touching each other. If you like”crusty” sides, put them about 1 inch apart.

PREHEAT OVEN: Place the cookie tray of biscuits in the freezer while the oven preheats to 450F/230C. This step will allow the butter in the dough to remain cold and to create a flaky biscuits with light layers.

BAKE AND ENJOY!: Once the oven is at temperature, bake the biscuits for about 10-12 minutes.

Easy SAUSAGE GRAVY with skim milk

2 links of raw sausage, remove casing
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 – 2 cups skim milk
1/2 – 1 tsp salt
1/2 – 1 tsp black pepper

Cook sausage in a thick skillet, like a cast-iron. Once the sausage is cooked thoroughly, add 1 Tbsp of oil to the sausage, if needed. Next add the flour directly to the meat. Stir until the meat is coated with the flour and oil. There should be a brown film on the bottom of the skillet. Next, add the milk 1/2 cup at a time until the gravy reaches the thickness you desire. Add salt and pepper to your liking.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

北海道牛奶麵包 Hokkaido Milk Bread

Hokkaido Milk Bread
Hokkaido Milk Bread


Hokkaido Milk Bread
recipe found on

Makes two loaves (each loaf tin size: 20.5cmx10.5cmx9.5cm)
Ingredients:

  • 540 gm bread flour
  • 86 gm caster sugar
  • 8 gm salt
  • 9 gm full cream milk power(original recipe calls for a kind of natural milk essence, not available here, so I replace it.)
  • 11 gm instant dried yeast
  • 86 gm whisked egg
  • 59 gm whipping cream
  • 54 gm milk
  • 184 gm tangzhong (method of making tangzhong)
  • 49 gm unsalted butter, melted

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/10/hokkaido-milk-toast-japanese-style.html#ixzz2DdccwqX

    Ingredients of tangzhong (湯種) For two loaves): (each loaf tin size: 20.5cm x 10.5cm x 9.5cm).
*NOTE: Best to measure ingredients by weight for most accurate amount.
  • 50 grams OR 1/3 cup bread flour
  • 250 ml/ 1 cup water (could be replaced by milk or 50/50 water and milk)
  • Mix flour in water well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
  • The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. You get the tangzhong. (Some people might like to use a thermometer to check the temperature. After a few trials, I found this simple method works every time.) Remove from heat.
  • Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature.  Just measure out the amount you need. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn’t turn grey. If so, you need to discard and cook some more. (Note: The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients. )

    Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/03/japanese-style-bacon-and-cheese-bread.html#ixzz2DdhcQu8W

  1. Mix flour in water or milk well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
  2. The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some circular “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon, it is done.
  3. Transfer mixture into a clean bowl. Cover with a saran or cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature.  Use HALF of the mixture for ONE loaf. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to ONEday (If it looks gray, then throw it out and make a new batch. Make sure the chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients.
  • Ingredients for ONE bread loaf
  • *NOTE: Best to measure ingredients by weight for most accurate amount.
  • 350gm/ 2½ cups bread flour
  • 55gm/3tbsp+2tsp granulated or caster sugar
  • 5gm/1tsp salt (I use kosher salt)
  • 56gm egg (or 1 large egg)
  • 7gm/1tbsp+1tsp milk powder (to increase fragrance, optional (I used NIDO milk powder http://www.nestlenido.com/Public/Default.aspx))
  • 125ml / ½cup whole milk
  • 120gm tangzhong (use HALF of the tangzhong from above)
  • 5 to 6gm  / 2 tsp instant yeast
  • 30gm/3tbsp butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)
  • Method (To make one loaf):
    1. Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (milk, cream, egg, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (salt, sugar, milk powder, bread flour, yeast). (Note: I used to make a small well in the bread flour, then add the yeast into it.) Select the “dough” mode (refer to the menu of your breadmaker to select the kneading dough programme). When all ingredients come together, pour in the melted butter, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. The time of kneading in the breadmaker is about 30 minutes. Then let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, about 40 minutes, best temperature for proofing is 28C, humidity 75%, until double in size.
    2. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 3 equal portions (see picture 1). Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
    3. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape (See picture 2). Fold 1/3 from top edge to the middle and press (see picture 3). Then fold 1/3 from bottom to the middle and press (see picture 4). Turn seal downward. Roll flat and stretch to about 30cm in length (see picture 5). With seal upward, roll into a cylinder (see picture 6). With seal facing down (see picture 7), place in the loaf tins to have the 2nd round of proofing (see picture 8), until double in size. The best temperature for 2nd round proofing is 38C, humidity 85%.
    4. Brush whisked egg on surface. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until turns brown. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

    Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/10/hokkaido-milk-toast-japanese-style.html#ixzz2DdevL9sQ

  •   INSTRUCTIONS (FOR ONE LOAF):
  1. Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (milk, cream, egg, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (salt, sugar, milk powder, bread flour, yeast). (Note: I used to make a small well in the bread flour, then add the yeast into it.) Select the “dough” mode (refer to the menu of your breadmaker to select the kneading dough programme). When all ingredients come together, pour in the melted butter, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. The time of kneading in the breadmaker is about 30 minutes. Then let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, about 40 minutes, best temperature for proofing is 28C, humidity 75%, until double in size.
  2. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 3 equal portions (see picture 1). Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
  3. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape (See picture 2). Fold 1/3 from top edge to the middle and press (see picture 3). Then fold 1/3 from bottom to the middle and press (see picture 4). Turn seal downward. Roll flat and stretch to about 30cm in length (see picture 5). With seal upward, roll into a cylinder (see picture 6). With seal facing down (see picture 7), place in the loaf tins to have the 2nd round of proofing (see picture 8), until double in size. The best temperature for 2nd round proofing is 38C, humidity 85%.
  4. Brush whisked egg on surface. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until turns brown. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

Hokkaido Milk Toast

Makes two loafs (each loaf tin size: 20.5cmx10.5cmx9.5cm)
Ingredients:

  • 540 gm bread flour
  • 86 gm caster sugar
  • 8 gm salt
  • 9 gm full cream milk power(original recipe calls for a kind of natural milk essence, not available here, so I replace it.)
  • 11 gm instant dried yeast
  • 86 gm whisked egg
  • 59 gm whipping cream
  • 54 gm milk
  • 184 gm tangzhong (method of making tangzhong)
  • 49 gm unsalted butter, melted

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/10/hokkaido-milk-toast-japanese-style.html#ixzz2DdccwqX9

Hokkaido Milk Toast

Makes two loafs (each loaf tin size: 20.5cmx10.5cmx9.5cm)
Ingredients:

  • 540 gm bread flour
  • 86 gm caster sugar
  • 8 gm salt
  • 9 gm full cream milk power(original recipe calls for a kind of natural milk essence, not available here, so I replace it.)
  • 11 gm instant dried yeast
  • 86 gm whisked egg
  • 59 gm whipping cream
  • 54 gm milk
  • 184 gm tangzhong (method of making tangzhong)
  • 49 gm unsalted butter, melted

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/10/hokkaido-milk-toast-japanese-style.html#ixzz2DdccwqX9

 



Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Carrabba’s Bread Dip

Carrabba's Bread DipCarrabba’s Bread Dip

Carrabba’s Bread Dip

Whenever my mother comes to visit, I know that there are two places she will want to visit: 1) Her favorite bubble tea place – Tapioca Express/House and 2) Carrabba’s Italian Grill. I honestly believe she visits me just to go those two places and seeing me is just like a little perk on the side ;).

I only go to Carrabba’s Italian Grill when she visits me, and we both order practically the same thing. I order either the Pasta Carrabba, which is basically Fettuccine Alfredo with green peas, or Pollo Rosa Maria (I’m definitely going to make this soon). She almost always orders the Insalata Johnny Rocco or something with eggplant.

Once we sit down and order our drinks, the waiter brings out some fresh sourdough bread and a little saucer filled with spices that looks very similar to what I have made on this post.

Carrabba's Bread Dip

The waiter then proceeds to pour olive oil on top of the spices to create the dip. Because my mother has the annoying habit of soaking up all the spices and oil with just one slice of bread, we always request for two saucers of spices so that I can have my own.

Carrabba's Bread Dip

I promised many moons ago that I would blog about the copycat recipe for this dip and never got around to it until now. Once you’ve made the spices (without the oil!), you can keep it in a closed container in your fridge for a long time. Whenever you’re ready to eat some, just spoon out as much as you want on a little plate, and pour the oil on top.

Carrabba's Bread Dip

Make sure your bread is soft and not hard like mine was. I shouldn’t have toasted it. Oh well. The dip is the focus of this post anyway. Enjoy!

Carrabba’s Bread Dip

adapted from Chef 2 Chef

1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp crushed black pepper
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder (I use 2 tsp garlic salt in place of the two last ingredients)
1 tsp salt

In a to-go container (like one from Whole Foods, Central Market or other specialty grocery store), combine all the ingredients together. Store mixture in the refrigerator until needed.

Put 1 Tbsp of mixture per person in a small saucer with raised edges. Pour extra-virgin olive oil over the mixture, and dip warm sourdough or French bread into the mixture. Be as greedy or dainty as you like!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangioeviaggiodasola.com

Mom’s Blueberry Salad

As you can see, I didn’t bother styling this salad. I just let it be. . .
A little more than 24 hours ago my mom arrived safely at home after spending more than 3 weeks with her favorite and only offspring – me :). While I love her dearly and enjoy spending time with her, I have to admit it is nice to have my bed and my place to myself again. 
On the day I made the pasta on the previous post, my mother volunteered to make the salad *gasp!*. My longtime readers know that my mom doesn’t like nor knows how to cook. However, she is the master of chopping veggies and throwing together salad-like meals (case in point – the pizza she decorated).
After spending too much time eating salads from Panera Bread as a graduate student in upstate New York, my mother’s tastebuds changed somewhat drastically. So, upon her return to Texas a few years ago, I was surprised when she told me that she now likes olives, which she at one point detested. To make matters worse Also, she became fond of adding various fruits, onions, and nuts to her salad. Now, I know that most foodies like these additions to salads, but I am boring a purist. All I fancy on my salads are lettuce (the simple kind like the water-drenched, nutrient-lacking iceberg lettuce or healthier, romaine lettuce), red tomatoes (mom and I agree on extra tomatoes), cheese, and ranch dressing. If I feel like eating a “fancier” salad, I may add on hard-boiled eggs and cucumbers but nothing more than those two ingredients. 
My favorite thing about this salad? The ratio of tomatoes to everything else.

So, when my mom volunteered to make this salad, I had completely forgotten about the changes in her food preferences until I saw the salad she placed in front of my camera. I instantly gave her my shocked look and promptly said, “Mo-om, it has blueberries, olives, and walnuts in it!” While rubbing her hands together in delight with a fork in one hand she said, “YUM! I know! (pause) Oh! I forgot you don’t like those things in your salad! (proceeds to flick her hand nonchalantly) You can just pick them out. They won’t hurt!” Thanks a lot, mom!

Fortunately the salad was pretty photogenic. Once we sat down to eat our meal, I did remove the unwanted items immediately to the disappointment of my parental figure. I also made sure to get the part of the salad withOUT the yucky bleu cheese dressing on it. Her pour/action shot was cute, but I wish it would have been ranch dressing instead. 
Anyway, there’s no real recipe for this salad. I will just list the ingredients she used and likes to use just in case you feel like venturing out with salads – if you haven’t already. I apologize now for not joining you. . . 🙂

Mom’s Blueberry Salad
Arugula
Roma tomatoes
Black or green olives
Fresh blueberries
Chopped walnuts
Hard-boiled eggs
Freshly-chopped mushrooms
Purple onions

Other possible ingredients (feel free to add more in the comments section):
Strawberries
Orange slices (including mandarin oranges)
Chopped Pecans
Romaine Lettuce
Feta cheese
Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Daring Cooks?: Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Homemade Pasta

I wrote “Daring Cooks” with a question mark in the title because I didn’t really follow the instructions in this challenge (and I’m two days late!), but I was inspired by one of the dishes we were requested to make with one of the nut butters.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

One of the dishes suggested was Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms from Cooking Light. Well, most of you know that I don’t like any type of nut, so I decided to make a chicken and mushroom dish with homemade pasta to make this dish a bit more fussy so that it could still be sort of a challenge even though I’ve made pasta before. So, I’m aware that this dish doesn’t count as a Daring Cooks’ Challenge; however, I tried to make it work for what I like. Do I get half of a point for doing that? 😀

 I highly suggest clicking on this photo or opening it on another tab and doing a close-up of the cooked, fresh pasta. It is almost translucent and looks so different from the store-bought, dried pasta. I cooked this pasta for 3 minutes and regretted it because it wasn’t al dente, but it was still fantastic. Cook fresh spaghetti for 2 minutes.

Anyway, I took some chicken out of the freezer to defrost for the next day and forgot to put it in this dish! I didn’t realize I had forgotten to include the chicken until my mom and I had sat down to eat! After taking one bite of this dish, though, I forgot all about that missing ingredient. This sauce was AMAZING and so flavorful. I made adjustments to the recipe based on the highest rated comment on allrecipes.com and based on what I had in my kitchen and will never turn back. This sauce was so quick to make that I could eat it at least once a week every week for the rest of my life. I loved the addition of sage and the meatiness of the mushrooms. For any lovers of meat, this dish would be perfect as a Meatless Monday meal or any type of meal; you really won’t miss the chicken. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make this sauce. This sauce is so good and quick to make. I will be making this again very soon.

As far as the pasta is concerned, it came out perfectly. I usually make fettuccine with my pasta cutter, but my mom wanted spaghetti, so I made that. I don’t know if my mom had fresh pasta in Italy, but she claimed that this time was her first known experience eating it fresh. While my mom and I were happily eating this pasta dish, we got into an interesting discussion about the role of homemade pasta versus store-bought pasta (and sandwich bread) when mixed with a good sauce or other ingredients.

HOMEMADE PASTA VS. DRIED, STORE-BOUGHT PASTA: We both agreed that many, not all, store-bought pasta and sandwich bread act more like mere vehicles for sauces, meats, and other ingredients. In other words, some store-bought items serve as a means to a end, i.e., transporting the the savory sauces, and what have you, into your mouth.  Homemade pasta and bread, however, play a larger role in dishes and at times become the star in a dish even if the other ingredients are quite flavorful. In other words, the homemade pasta and bread themselves become refreshing and delectable edible “plates”.

Now, the fresh pasta and this creamy mushroom sauce that my mom and I enjoyed were great complements to each other. Both the pasta and the sauce stood out so beautifully that I don’t know if I could ever eat this sauce with the store-bought kind.  Okay. . . okay. . .I’m sure that on my lazier days, I will try it out and will just think back to how amazing this dish tasted with the fresh pasta. 

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON HOMEMADE VS. DRIED, STORE-BOUGHT PASTA OR BREADS?
All of these spaghetti came from only half of the ball of dough you will see below.
Pasta Dough
For the pasta dough, I’ve learned that true Italian pasta dough does not call for any water at all despite the other recipes I’ve seen online. As I always do when I want an authentic, Italian meal, I turned to ItalianFood.Net for a recipe for my pasta dough. This is now my go-to recipe for pasta dough.

 

From ItalianFood.Net (click here for the video)
Reduced for 4 people; the source recipe would be more for 6, not 4, people.

100 grams 00 flour (You could sub AP flour. I bought my 00 flour from a local Italian market)
100 grams semolina/durum wheat flour
Pinch of salt (I used kosher)
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp – 1 Tbsp olive oil (you may need to add more oil if your ball of dough is dry like mine)

Mix the two flours and salt in a bowl and form a hole or well in the middle. Place the eggs and olive oil in the middle. Mix the mixture with a fork well. Form a ball in the bowl, and transfer the ball to a flat surface. Add flour if the ball of dough is too wet, and add more oil if it is too dry.

That little ball of dough is enough for 4 people’s worth of pasta. That little cut piece on the bottom left created those two lonnnng layers of pasta in the lower right photo.

Knead the dough until the ball of dough becomes smooth and homogeneous. Cover the ball of dough completely, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes so that the gluten can relax. Work with 1/4th of the dough at a time to form the pasta. If you have a pasta roller/cutter, follow the instructions for your machine. If you do not have a pasta roller, roll out the pieces of dough as thin as you can with a rolling pin as instructed on the video on italianfoodnet.com.

 

Creamy Mushroom Pasta
adapted from allrecipes

8 oz of fresh or store-bought fettuccine (I used spaghetti)
1 1/2 Tbsps olive oil, separated (1/2 Tbsp for pasta water and 1 Tbsp for sauce)
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 oz of fresh mushrooms, chopped
1/2 Tbsp of unsalted butter
1 Tbsp of AP flour
1/4 – 1/2 of a chicken or vegetable bouillon cube or 1/4th cup of chicken/vegetable broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp sage (trust me!)
salt and pepper to taste (don’t use too much salt b/c the bouillon is salty. I didn’t need any at all.)

Prepare pasta water and pasta:
Bring a large pot of lightly-salted and oiled water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 minutes (2-3 minutes for homemade pasta!), or until al dente. Reserve some of the pasta water to thin out the mushroom sauce later.

While waiting for the pasta water to boil, make the sauce: 
Heat olive oil in a medium skillet or saucepan over medium heat, and cook shallots and garlic until transparent. Stir in mushrooms, and cook until tender. Add the butter, and add the flour after the butter melts to form a roux to thicken the sauce. Stir the roux with the sautéed vegetables for 2-3 minutes to cook out the flour taste. (Don’t forget about the boiling water for the pasta! It should be boiling by now!)

Mix in heavy cream and sage. Cook and stir until thickened. If too thick, use some pasta water (i.e., the leftover water from the cooked pasta) to thin out the sauce a bit. You can either toss the sauce with cooked pasta, and season with salt and pepper to serve, or add salt (I didn’t add any salt) and pepper in the sauce, and serve it atop the pasta.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Pizza Hut Clone Pizza Revisited

My mom’s pizza: tomatoes, olives, mushrooms, jalapeños, onions, sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

In May of last year, I made this clone recipe of Pizza Hut’s Pan pizza and was instantly hooked on it. I love thick and thin dough, but my favorite is the thick, pan variety. Even though this recipe doesn’t yield a pan pizza exactly like that of Pizza Hut, it is fabulous and less oily. I didn’t have any tomato sauce, so I watered down some tomato paste and added Italian seasoning, garlic salt, a little sugar, and pepper. That worked like a charm.

Another burnt creation thanks to my beloved oven. It all still tasted amazing, including the crust. My pizza: pepperoni, sauce, and mozzarella cheese

The maintenance workers came to fix my oven two times, and now it seems to be worse than before. Consequently, I burned my meat pizza and had to watch my mother’s pizza like a hawk; hence, there are more photos of my mom’s pizza than mine. I probably could have cooked the pizza a couple of minutes more to get more color on the crust, but my mother was pleased with how it looked, and it was well-cooked. Even my gently-burnt pizza was still amazingly good.

My mom “decorated” this pizza all by herself haha. I’m so proud of her.

In the original post, I had promised my mom that I would make this pizza for her in July of last year. Well, I am one year late in my promise, but the month is July, so I’m happy I could make this for her. She said this pizza was the best pizza she had ever eaten, and my mom is a pizza addict who has eaten pizza in New York, Chicago, and various parts of Italy. So, that is a major compliment!

I had only one cast-iron skillet, so I split the dough into two pieces. Once I baked my pizza, I transferred it to a plate and started working on my mom’s pizza in the same skillet. I really like making pizza in a cast-iron skillet; it is much easier than making it in a pie plate or on the back of a jelly roll pan.

My mom’s favorite part of the pizza was the crust on the top left part of the above photo, so I had to take a shot of it haha.

I hope you make this one day soon; it is a fantastic recipe. I am submitting this post to yeastspotting!

Pizza Hut Clone Pizza
adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

Sauce:
1 (8 oz) tomato sauce (I used one 8oz tomato paste + 1/4-1/2 cup water)
1-2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (or 1 tsp dry oregano; 1/2 tsp marjoram; 1/2 tsp dry basil; 1/2 tsp garlic salt)
1/2 tsp sugar (to offset the bitterness of the tomato sauce)

Combine the ingredients. Allow the mixture to sit for 1 hour while the dough rises.

Pizza:
1 1/3 C Warm water (105F/40C) (OR you could use 1 1/2 cups of WARM milk in place of water and dry milk)
1 pk (2 1/4 tsp) dry yeast (I used active)
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 C non−fat dry milk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (for dough)
1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher)
4 C AP flour
approx. 6 Oz Vegetable oil (3 oz. per pan)

Preheat oven to 475F (I cooked at 450). Put yeast, sugar, and dry milk in a large (2 qt.) bowl or mixing bowl of stand mixer. Add the warm water, and stir to mix well. Allow mixture to sit for two minutes.

Then, add oil and stir again. Add flour and salt, and mix until dough forms and flour is absorbed. Turn out on to a flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes (If using a stand mixer, mix the ingredients with a dough hook and then knead the dough for 5-6 minutes.)

Divide dough into two balls (about 450-460 grams each). In two cast-iron skillets (or you can use two 9′ cake/pie plates or one 9-inch pie plate and one 9 x 13 dish), put 1-2 Tbsp of oil in each skillet/plate making sure it is spread evenly. Using a rolling pin or your hand, roll/pat out each dough ball to about a 9″ circle in the skillet (you probably won’t be able to spread the dough to the edges at this time).

Cover with a towel or a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Then, pat the dough once more to the edges of the skillet.

Poke holes in the crust or use pie weights, and parbake the crust for 2-5 minutes to prevent sogginess of dough after adding the sauce.

Spoon 1/3 cup sauce on dough. Distribute 1 1/2 Oz. shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings of your choice. Top with 3 oz. mozzarella cheese. Cook until cheese is bubbling and outer crust is brown about 15 minutes. Then brush outer edge of crust with garlic butter.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Cream of Tomato Soup

Here’s another dish I had to consume during my wisdom teeth “saga” (I exaggerate, of course). This soup was very good and hearty. However, it didn’t take long for me to get tired of soups. What I liked about this recipe was that it had a small enough yield for one or two people compared to the soup recipe from Ina Garten (why do most of her recipes yield so much?).

Anyway, make sure you season this soup well. If you’re eating this soup right after an extraction, purée the soup more than I did. I ate this after 3 or 4 days of my extraction, and I was lazy, so I didn’t purée it. I will be sharing one more soup I consumed during my extraction, then we can move on to solid foods again hehe. On the top of the soup, I added small squares of a grilled cheese sandwich as garnish!

Cream of Tomato Soup
adapted from Life’s Ambrosia and Ina Garten

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 cup chicken broth or dry white wine (I don’t drink alcohol, so I used extra broth)
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted or regular crushed tomatoes (I always use a box of Pomì)
3/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 tsp granulated sugar (to reduce the acidity of the tomatoes)
Black pepper
Kosher salt
1/2 cup half-n-half or heavy cream

Garnish:
Chopped fresh basil
Grilled cheese sandwich chopped into squares

In a large saucepan heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Once butter has melted add onions and garlic, cook until onion is softened about 5 minutes. Add in 2 Tbsp of flour to form a roux. Cook the roux for 3-5 minutes. Pour in broth or wine, and allow to cook for 1 minute. Add in crushed tomatoes, vegetable or chicken broth and granulated sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

Slowly stir the cream/half-n-half into the soup, and allow to simmer for 30 minutes.

For a smoother soup, blend the mixture, and process it until smooth. Just before serving, sprinkle with chopped fresh basil and/or grilled cheese sandwich squares.

Enjoy!

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Black-Peppered Egg Noodles

Click on the above photo and enlarge it to see this beautiful pasta closely.

On our way back from the berry farm, my mother and I stopped at one of our favorite places – Barnes & Noble Booksellers. If you’re not familiar with this place, it is essentially a big bookstore with a café serving Starbucks coffee.

Of course, I quickly sashayed (yeah, I don’t sashay) to the cookbook section and picked up a bunch of stuff. The cookbook I spent the most time on was Mario Batali’s Molto Italiano cookbook. I copied down many recipes to use for later, and my head continued to think about those recipes hours after I had left the bookstore.

The recipe I thought the most about was for these black-peppered egg noodles. It was mentioned nonchalantly as a variation of the regular egg noodles, but it appealed to me so much that I could not wait to pull out my pasta maker to make them.

Speaking of my pasta maker, I have a question for you: If you received a $100 Amazon card from your Chase Visa Rewards, what would you buy? Well, I used it for a Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller and Cutter Set that was on sell for 115.95 and paid only 15.95 out of pocket, and I don’t regret the decision. Although I don’t use the roller & cutter set much, I know I never would have been able to buy this coveted item (at least by me) on my own.

Anyway, these noodles were fantastic, flavorful, and oh so fragrant (oooh alliteration)! They looked so ugly at first that I thought I had wasted 5 eggs (I’m stingy with my eggs.). The dough was much rougher than regular pasta dough b/c of the black pepper. However, on a positive note, the black pepper prevented the dough from sticking together as much as the plain variety.

This ugly duckling became a beautiful swan!

If you have a similar pasta roller/cutter, I suggest working in small batches. I first divided the dough into four balls, but had to later divide those balls into two more smaller balls for a total of 8. This was way too much for one person, but I have dried out the noodles and plan to eat more as the week progresses.

Don’t be deterred by how the noodles look and feel at the beginning; you will be rewarded in the end. They become lovely noodles after you boil them for merely 2-3 minutes. Stay tuned for what else I did with these noodles. You didn’t think I just ate the noodles by themselves, did you?

Black-Peppered Egg Noodles

3 1/2 cups Tipo ’00 or AP Flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 Tbsp black pepper (I used the powdery, cheap variety)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika (optional; I added this because of what I prepared with it)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil, based on desired consistency

Place the flour in a large bowl or atop a flat, wooden surface and make a well in the middle for the other ingredients. Next, add in the eggs, black pepper, salt, and paprika (if using).

With your hands or a fork, mix the ingredients together until you form a ball of dough (I would suggest using a stand mixer for this because the dough was somewhat coarse and hard to put together in a ball. Don’t mix it too much, though). Add the olive oil as it mixes.

Keep on trucking. This ugly, questionable, brain-looking dough ball will form pretty noodles in the end; I promise!
 

Once you form the ball of dough, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature before using. Next, separate the dough ball into 8 smaller balls. Flatten the balls of dough and put them through the pasta maker according to the instructions for your machine (I went up to the penultimate or next-to-last notch on the roller). Flour each layer so that the dough layers won’t stick.

[From left to right: 1) dough balls that I had to divide into two again. 2) flattened dough ball that was still too big to fit into the pasta roller. 3) The layer of dough after going through the first notch on the roller. 4) the final product up to notch 7 with flour on top.]
 

Cut the flattened layers of dough into fettuccine noodles, or use the fettuccine cutter attachment. Make sure you sprinkle flour on the noodles so that they won’t stick to each other.

Freshly-cut, floured, uncooked noodles that turned out much prettier than I’d expected.

**If making the noodles immediately, prepared boiled water with a bit more olive oil and kosher salt. Add the noodles, and cook them for 2-3 minutes.

***If using the noodles later, lay them out on a flat surface and allow them to dry out for a few hours. Store the dried noodles in a closed container for 2-3 days in the refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer. More info here. You’re welcome :).

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Store and Make Ahead Flour Tortillas *UPDATE*

From the fridge to the skillet to the calentador de tortillas hecho en México
(tortilla warmer made in Mexico)!

I make these flour tortillas quite often enough that I have the recipe memorized, and I know just how the masa or dough should feel. It should be very warm from the hot water, moist but not too wet that it leaves remnants of dough on your hands, and it should not feel dry anywhere on the dough. If it is, keep fiddling with the dough ball until it is all moist. Click here for more…

When I add too much water to the dough, which can happen due to weather changes, I usually have to add a bit more flour to get it to the right consistency. If I add too much flour, however, I have to adjust the rest of the ingredients as well. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often, and when it does, it isn’t a big deal since there are only 4-5 ingredients.

The only part of making tortillas that causes me to want to buy them instead is the time it takes to flatten out the balls of dough and cook them. I usually set up my rolling pin, Silpat mat, and mixer bowl of masa in front of the television or laptop and get them ready for the skillet. Doing it this way as opposed to standing up for a long time next to the hot stove, has made the process a bit more desirable but increases the time to make them since I have more distractions.

I love the process of weighing out (35-40 grams each) and rolling out the masa into balls!

However, I have found a way to make the tortilla-making process a bit less daunting. Instead of rolling the tortillas out for the skillet on the same day, I now prep them out for the next day (or you could do it a few hours before you need them!). That way, on the next day, I usually forget about all the work I did the day before and just plop the uncooked, moist tortillas on the hot skillet or comal for a few minutes. They still come out just as perfectly as when you cook the tortilla right after you roll out the dough ball.
I’ve only done this process twice (including for this post), so this is all an experiment in progress. I know that you can store raw, rolled-out tortillas for one day, and I will find out if they are still good after a 2-day rest. I will update this post with that information later.

*UPDATE AS PROMISED*
I took the rest of the tortillas out today, and they looked a bit different than the previous day but I forged on. Fortunately, they yielded delicious tortillas, but the texture was slightly different (a bit more grainy?) than the very first (I made some on the day I made these but didn’t post photos of them) and next day (the ones posted) tortillas. Here are the photos of the 2-day tortillas. I would not recommend going beyond 2 days to cook your tortillas.Lastly, two commenters asked me about using a tortilla press or tortilladora to facilitate the process. I have a tortilladora, but based on my experience, I am unable to get a thin, flour tortilla when using one. Tortilladoras are good for flattening out and shaping corn tortillas and to make gorditas (fatter flour tortillas), but not for thin, flour tortillas. Also, even when I use the tortilladora for my corn tortillas, it can at times be a bit daunting as well, so the press is not a huge time-saver; however, it does shape the tortillas much better.

PROCESS:
So, the next time you want to make homemade tortillas, weigh them, roll them, and shape them the day before. Use wax paper (or something more economically-friendly) to keep the tortillas separate. I accidentally found out that you can stack two tortillas on top of each other, and they will not stick together, but I wouldn’t put too many of them like that.

I aimed for separating each tortilla with a sheet of wax paper. I made the wax paper sections bigger than I would have liked for the purposes of this blog, but after taking photos of the first few, I made the papers much smaller (closer to the size of the tortilla). REUSE these wax papers; it will be fine. Just let them sit out to dry, and use them again for the next time. Store the covered, raw tortillas in a clear, Ziploc bag, and leave them in the refrigerator for the next day.

Process of stacking the uncooked tortillas. The last two photos show them fresh out of the refrigerator. The tortillas are a bit moist but come out just fine in the skillet.

On the day you cook the tortillas, you do not need to let them warm to room temperature. Just take the cold tortillas out, remove the wax paper as you go, and place them on a pre-heated comal or skillet. As soon as you see a few bubbles, turn them over with your hand if you dare (the way many Mexican households and I do it.) or with a spatula (I recommend the latter if you’re new at this). Then once the other side bubbles up (the bubbles will be bigger), turn it over one more time for a few seconds, and then place the cooked tortilla in a covered container.

I bought this calentador de tortillas for fewer than 5 dollars (and the $1 pasta plate for the carbonara) at Fiesta Mart, a store that caters to Latin-American foods and products, but you can buy one online here.

Many use paper towels in addition to the container, but I’m trying to lower my use of paper products (hence the reason I reuse the wax paper).

For the recipe for my go-to flour tortillas, go here. I hope you find this post helpful!Dear Mom,

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!! I thank you for being the best role model a daughter could have. I love you so much. You’re my best friend and my best mom. I hope you enjoy the 60-minute massage and the rest of your gifts hehe!

-Love your FAVORITE and ONLY child 😀

Dear Mothers,

Happy Mother’s Day to all the female, parental-figured readers out there! 😀 Have a fantastic day; you deserve it!


-Love Memoria

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com

Sloppy Joes

For my first giveaway, one of the questions I posed dealt with what types of dishes you all would like to see on my blog. A couple of commenters suggested I blog about some family recipes. While most people would see this suggestion as normal and more than satisfactory, I thought it was quite humorous because for my family, there is really no such thing as a family recipe because the relatives with whom I grew up never really learned how to cook. Their inability to cook stemmed from the fact that my grandmother would kick the kids out of the kitchen!

This sentiment may come off weird, but I’m actually proud to admit that my mom is considered the worst cook of my family b/c her ineptitude in the kitchen goes against gender stereotypes. She doesn’t like to be in the kitchen for more than 5 minutes. In fact, her dream house would include a small kitchen and a huge bathroom. My dad, on the other hand, does know how to cook, but I was not raised by him. My maternal aunts and uncles are inept in the kitchen as well; however, one or two of my aunts have been getting better b/c their husbands or ex-husbands taught them how to cook.

So, unfortunately, I won’t have any family recipes to share on this blog. Well, my mom does know how to make one dish: potato salad. So, I could share that one day (mom?). Anyway, I wrote all of that to say that the recipes on my blog will probably become my future family recipes if I ever procure my own family, and this sloppy joe recipe will definitely be one of them.
The dish was very flavorful. I didn’t make any buns, so I just used regular, store-bought bread. I highly suggest you make this recipe part of your “family recipes” soon. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes
adapted by allrecipes

1 pound lean or regular ground beef or black/kidney beans (for vegetarian option)
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper (optional; I didn’t use)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
3/4 cup ketchup
3 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
Topping: cheddar cheese, optional

In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids.

Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Plan-ahead: Fill the cups in a muffin tin with leftovers, and freeze them. When frozen, pop them out, and store in a Ziploc bag in the freezer. Each one is the perfect size for a bun and ready to microwave.

Copyright – Memoria James – http://www.mangiodasola.com